the_paradigm_conflictfandomcom-20200213-history
Mastermind
Mastermind. Without question, Mastermind is the greatest super-villain that Paradigm City has ever known. He is The Boss, the Big Cheese, the man that transformed The Advent from a haberdashery of super-villains to the vast criminal empire that threatens the very stability of Paradigm City itself. To superheroes Mastermind is a household name. He is the primary target of every man and woman whom dons a cape and chooses to fight crime. Every superhero knows that if Mastermind's identity could be uncovered, if he could be arrested and brought to justice then The Advent would collapse and be destroyed and peace would finally come back; the Paradigm Conflict would end. To super-villains Mastermind is also a household name. He is The Man, the omnipotent and omnipresent criminal genius whom knows everything and whom, if a villain were to set one tiny toe over the wrong line, would sunder that criminal from the world by sending heroes to them, by revealing evidence to ensure conviction or if the offense is great enough will simply murder you where you stand. Mastermind is the Overlord than even Overlords fear. If Mastermind's true identity were ever to come to light the superhero community would be brought to its knees because every single superhero in Paradigm City relies on him. They depend on him to be the fruits of their labor even though none of them know it because Mastermind is the last person any hero could reasonably expect to be. He is Jason Wynnegard, Paradigm City's District Attorney. History Jason Wynnegard was born in the Citywalk district of Millennium City is the year 1954. A child of poverty, Wynnegard soon grew to hate his staus, and the very notion that being poor somehow made on lesser than other people. He knew what it meant to go to bed hungry, and to shiver in winter and even before he wa sten years old he swore that someday he would be better than all of this. The vow he made to himself that night was to have power, and it would be the personal promise that would propel him through life. Even before his mutant powers surfaced Jason learned how to be a master manipulator. A sob story here, a little self-depreciation there and Jason soon had children his own age and adults both eating out of the palm of his hand. The arrival of his magnificent powers at age 12 was only icing on the cake. An intelligent and shrewd boy, Jason learned fast to keep his abilities secret. He hardly ever used the at all except when needed to swing life judiously in his favor. Getting his father a raise at work or getting an influental neighbor to ensure the Wynnegard family had an amazing Christmas dinner and plenty of gifts were the highlights of his power use. More than use his powers Jason learned to observe, and to study. People became experiments to him, and he would take careful note of how people would behave in certain situations. At seventeen, Wynnegarde became involved with the Obertus family of Millennium City and was intrigued by the wealth of opportunities that organized crime offered him. He began his criminal career as a simple courier, running contraband from the Family to a wide variety of customers. As with his powers, Wynnegard was judicious with his wealth. He never flashed around enough cash to make people suspicious. He tucked most of his profits away, intent on using them to put himself through law school. Throught law school and as a runner for the Obertus Family Wunnegard cultivated contacts and alliances throughout all walks of life, using his powers only as a means of ensuring that his clandestine activities couldn't be detected. The criminal called Mastermind first made his appearance as the head of a group of criminal mercenaries known as the 4th Quarter. This group--which included many criminals still active in Paradigm todays such as Domino, Plastique, Equine, Extinguisher, and Diamondcutter--hired themselves out as mercenary criminals and were exceptionally successful in this line of work. Mastermind was never named and it was learned that after The 4th Quarter disbanded that none of the other villains had ever even known whom Mastermind was. That was exactly how Wynnegard had wanted it. He raked in nearly 10 million dollars as a criminal for hire, all of which was hidden behind front companies and proxies. Oscar Obertus, however, was soon able to peice certain obscure clues together and surmise, correctly, that the Mastermind moving in on Obertus territory was likely Wynnegard. He ordered a hit on the promising young attorney unaware that his own son, Salazar, was already in Wynnegard's pocket as a lover, friend, and associate. Salazar alerted Wynnegard to the threat and Wynnegard took quick and decisive action. He eliminated Oscar quietly, letting word throughout the criminal community be spread that Salazar Obertus was the author of the crime. Salazar's reward for this deception was, of course, control of the family. In this way Mastermind secured his powerbase as Citywalk's crime lord, using Salazar Obertus as his proxy. Wynnegarde sat as the head of the Obertus family for the next thirty years. It was largely believed by the underworld community that Mastermind and Salazar Obertus were one in the same, which suited Wynnegard just fine. He was free to focus on his legal career, moving from law school to private practice to, eventually, the office of the District Attorney. As an associate DA, Wynnegard was able to make close personal friends within superhero organizations which included Paragon and Cleopatra. It stands as a testament to his skill and power that even so great a mind as Cleopatra has been unable to pierce the viel and realize that Jason Wynnegard is Mastermind. The Street Rat controls the operations of The Chromatic Dragons and her own street gang called the Trashrats. Her true name is unknown, but her mannerisms and speech patterns suggest that she originally came from a well-to-do family. The Street Rat haunts the docks of Millennium City, where her authority is absolute. She is an expert in firearms, typically taking on her foes with a pair of uzis. She has been identified as a genetic mutant, and appears to have the ability to hit anything she is aiming at, either with a firearm or a thrown object. She is a skilled street brawler and knife fighter, and tends to confront heroes with her own personal militia of Dragons or Trashrats. 2. Roughhouse This stalwart criminal has been identified as one Hector Benevidez, and is wanted by law enforcement on numerous charges of assault and murder. Seven and a half feet and 388 pounds of pure muscle mass, Roughhouse never appears in public unless he intends on doing harm to someone for some real or imagined slight. Roughhouse is the leader of the gang called the Ninth Street Brujah whom, as one might expect, haunt Citywalk's Ninth Street. Roughhouse and his Brujah control the flow of narcotics within Millennium City, assisting Snapdragon in both this and confronting the reptilian Overlord's numerous rivals. It is rumoured that he received his superpowers as a favor from Olympic Industries, powers which include near invulnerability and the strength to lift 60 tons. 3. Salazar Obertus In North Hills, the name Obertus is synonymous with organized crime. On the surface the family don, Salazar, seems to be a run of the mill crime boss but as one moves deeper into Millennium City's diseased underbelly one begins to hear rumours that Obertus is really the most feared of apex predators: the vampire. Salazar Obertus certainly looks the part: always dressed in the finest of Armani suits, pale skin, impervious to injury, and the ability to sap the will of anyone he locks eyes with. Interestingly, the hero Solitaire of Heroes Unlimited has clashed with all the members of the Obertus family, and has stated that Salazar Obertus casts no reflection. Also, wierdly, he cannot be affected--at all--by any power coming from a Nightwardian, nor can his mind control powers work against a Nightwardian. Curiouser and curiouser. 4. Izumi Noriboto, Minuette Like the elegant dance that is her namesake, Miss Noriboto is chic, refined, and genteel. She hardly looks the type to be involved in crime, a bon vivant whom lives to mingle with Paradigm City's elite. The truth is that she is Mastermind's chief accountant and advisor. Despite her facade of the air-headed trust fund baby Miss Noriboto can boast of being on the the grand masters of the martial art of Shotokan karate. She has precise and exacting control over her own personal chi, which she can utilize to fight blind, avoid being taken by surprise, break bones, and kill with one punch. Category:Villains Category:Overlords Category:Supervillains